Ohrid Airport sees rapid growth in 2019


Ohrid Airport has registered seat capacity growth of over 150% this year with the launch of new services by Wizz Air and Eurowings, helped by charter flights from the Netherlands and Poland. St Paul the Apostle Airport welcomed 70.597 travellers through its doors during the January - May period, representing an impressive increase of 81.8%. It added an extra 31.765 travellers on the same period last year. It is estimated to handle over 300.000 passengers in 2019. So far, demand has been highly seasonal with the airport welcoming around 36.000 travellers in July and August last year but only 5.000 passengers during most of the winter months. This trend is expected to ease this year with Wizz Air to maintain all of its routes during the 2019/2020 winter seasons.

Overall, Ohrid Airport will see the largest growth in traffic in 2019 in its 65-year history. "Back in 2014, for the most part of the year we handled only one plane daily. This year, in July and August, there will be days when we process some twenty flights per day. For comparison, just a few years ago we had three to four airlines serving St Paul the Apostle Airport, while this summer season there are thirteen foreign carriers connecting Ohrid with twenty destinations in twelve countries. This growth will continue in the future", the head of the Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency, Tomislav Tuntev, said.

Despite much of the demand for flights being driven by tourism, operator TAV Macedonia is looking to attract more passengers from neighbouring Albania to use its services at Ohrid Airport. The company's management met with tour operators and agencies in Elbasan in central Albania recently and has urged for the introduction of a shuttle bus service between the city and St Paul the Apostle Airport. The two are some sixty kilometres apart. The airport itself is actually closer to Tirana than Skopje. This summer, Ohrid is being served by Wizz Air, Edelweiss, Eurowings, Arkia Israel Airlines, Chair Airlines, Pegasus, Onur Air, Corendon Airlines, Brussels Airlines, TUIFly, Nordica, Enter Air, LOT and Helvetic.




Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    So this year they will almost double the passenger numbers. Nice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    Congratulations Ohrid. That really is major growth.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:05

    While it is true that Tirana is closer, the road is bad that it takes longer to get there then to Skopje

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:19

      The road from OHD to Elbasan is terrible and you have to go through Elbasan to get to Tirana.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous04:35

      What is so terrible on that road? I find it quite nice.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:05

    What is OHD's capacity?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:22

      So if they keep growing the way they are now, soon they will need a new terminal, or expand the current one.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:53

      Are there any plans to expand OHD terminal?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:53

      If they continue grow they will have to do something .... even now there are big lines which extend way beyond the doors, even on the airpron, for passport control when two planes land 15-30 minutes of each other ... and also there is only one security check point (with one scanner) to enter the gate area ...

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:07

    The subsidized Wizz flights are having a positive impact.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:18

    Also the year round Edelweiss flights are a great addition.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:18

      Schedule is much better in winter because flights depart ZRH at 06:55 and depart OHD at 09:45h. The only issue is it's 1 weekly in winter.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:32

      With Edelweiss now in Ohrid, perhaps Swiss could consider upgrading Skopje to mainline operations.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:12

      +1 last anon

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:21

    Great developments for OHD. They could try to attract Croatia Airlines with some seasonal flights from Zagreb. A 2-3 weekly Dash 8 shouldn't be a problem to fill from May-Sep .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why not and Air Serbia?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:30

      +1 Belgrade could work especially if they time it to connect to JFK.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:57

      I really hope that AirSerbia will return to OHD.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:02

      Would be nice if they attracted Adria back too. I think 2 weekly with their Saabs would work perfectly.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:32

      This is a serious seasonal opportunity for OU and JU (but not for flights after midnight :D)

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:13

      the dash 8 and Atr are the optimal aircrafts for them

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:31

    Ohrid really is Macedonia's biggest selling point.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:52

      It really is a spectacular place. I just hope it's natural beauty is preserved.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:50

      Agree. It really is a special place there.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:33

    Time to link Ohrid Airport to the town. There is no public transport. It would come in handy for the tourists.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:42

      Yes before bus to Albania please introduce bus to downtown.

      Delete
    2. Both, people need

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:33

    Sounds promising indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:42

    Go Ohrid! Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:43

    +150% capacity. wow that's huge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:56

      OHD is booming and well deserved.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous10:02

    Well done to Ohrid. I'm surprised that Wizz Air is not introducing direct flights to Athens taking into account the large Albanian diaspora in Greece. Ohrid could definitely attract more passengers from south east Albania.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:50

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:39

      It won’t work. Aegean airlines go daily to Tirana also people drive to Albania from Greece.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous10:50

    Overall, well done to them for the ongoing expansion.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous10:53

    Finally the focus is shifting to OHD. Hopefully we get to see more year-round routes

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:55

      OHD should try to attract more flights from Scandinavia for tourists.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:01

      Scandinavian and Eastern European markets too. These is an ideal destination for CIS countries.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:22

      I'm surprised that OHD is still 'undiscovered' by the Russians

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:31

      I agree it is odd that Russians have still not discovered Ohrid in big numbers. Especially since they don't need a visa for Macedonia.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:43

      Pobeda would be perfect for OHD.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous11:01

    Ohrid is the new success story

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous11:15

    Jerusalem of the Balkans deserves much more.
    Still, very good results and bright future.
    OHD needs flights to BVA and MAD.
    Spaniards now are heading towards the Balkans..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:45

      Jerusalem of the Balkans, LOL
      Have you been to Jerusalem at all?

      Delete
    2. Have you been in Ohrid?

      Delete
  18. Anonymous11:22

    Great news coming from Macedonia this year with new routes from Ohrid and Skopje. It's impressive for a relatively small market but it's definitely growing. Good work.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous12:32

    How many year round routes from OHD?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:44

      8 - Zurich, Dortmund, London, Memmigen, Basel, Malmo, Milan and Vienna.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:32

      Very good

      Delete
  20. Anonymous13:33

    Ryanair, EasyJet, Norwegian we are waiting for you from OHD.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous21:25

      With Wizz Air flying from an increasing number of destinations from OHD, I highly doubt it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous21:28

      Norwegian should start flights to Norway and Denmark.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous22:03

      SAS would be nice too.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:01

      It won't be a problem for Norwegian to start CPH and OSL or TRF. Ryanair could go for BVA, SKG or SOF (maybe), then Barcelona Girona etc.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous21:00

    You forgot Air Serbia :-) Once weekly from Basel starting next Saturday.
    Congrats Ohrid!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous21:26

      The Air Serbia flights to Basel are some charters no? They flew last year as well.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous00:38

      They are charters organized by some Struga tour operators

      Delete
  22. Anonymous21:03

    And Arkia from Tel Aviv too. 3x weekly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous21:27

      When do those start? There are no Arkia flights to Ohrid in the next seven days.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous00:36

      Yes there are..
      Check Wednesday for instance. Flights have started in mid of June.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:02

      Aren't they just charters?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:11

      no, these flights do cater mostly to package deals but they sell spare tickets on their website

      Delete
  23. Anonymous21:25

    Last year the government said they would focus on Ohrid. Guess they kept their promise.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous23:48

    Wow well done Ohrid!

    ReplyDelete
  25. If you make it to Ohrid, make sure you check out Menus.mk to find where to eat and drink.

    https://menus.mk/location/ohrid/

    ReplyDelete

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